700x32 tires & brakes - question

I'm thinking about putting a 700x32 tire on my back wheel. It's a surly pacer frame, so it definitely has room for the 700x32, but I've got tiagra brakes it which I are 39-49 mm reach.

The bike currently has a 700x28 panaracer t-serv on it, and I'd like to go up to a 700x32 tserv. If the measurements are right, I'd need another 4 mm on top & 2 mm on either side to go to the bigger size tire. I definitely have it on the sides, but on the top of the 700x28 tire to the bottom of the tiagra brake, there's about 1/4-9/16 of an inch of space which is 6.35 mm assuming that's the smallest... That gives me 2.35 mm to spare. Is that enough or is that cutting it too close?

Anyone else running 700x32 tires in standard road brakes?

Good question! I don't know what the right answer is, but it sounds awfully close to me.... Can you post a pic for us visual learners?

Looks like Surly recommends standard-reach brakes for the Pacer: http://www.surlybikes.com/pacer.html Tektro makes a reasonably affordable option: http://www.velo-orange.com/te52br.html or there's always Ebay/Craigslist.

I'm interested to hear what others think....this is a good learning opportunity.

You can probably get away with 2 mm of clearance between your tire and brake. But if you ever ride off road and encounter mud, you'll find that the brake clogs with mud very easily.

Thanks, I'll post a pic later tonight.

Here's pics of the 700x28 on the bike:

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_qnxyEZuNEmk/SZ...0/IMGP2618.JPG

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_qnxyEZuNEmk/SZ...0/IMGP2619.JPG

Ignore the extraneous shifter cable that's not hooked up yet in this pic:

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_qnxyEZuNEmk/SZ...0/IMGP2620.JPG

I've been looking at it - and I think that long reach brakes aren't necessarily going to fix anything - the brakes that I have reach the sidewall of the tires, no problem... They've got the side clearance for a bigger tire - but they don't have the top clearance.

So what I need is a brake that's thinner at the top piece.... and I'm not sure how I figure out which ones those are.

I guarantee Brian can help you with that.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Zen

I guarantee Brian can help you with that.

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That might beat my current plan of taking a dremel to the brakes that are already on there and grinding myself some room.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Catriona

I've been looking at it - and I think that long reach brakes aren't necessarily going to fix anything - the brakes that I have reach the sidewall of the tires, no problem... They've got the side clearance for a bigger tire - but they don't have the top clearance.

So what I need is a brake that's thinner at the top piece.... and I'm not sure how I figure out which ones those are.

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I think you're right. From the pics, your clearance issue is at the brake bridge.

Maybe a trip to the LBS with tape measure is in order, just to measure some other brakes? Or a tire with a slightly different profile? Do you have a 32 to try?

I'll try to remember to measure some of the different road brakes laying around our house tonight and post the measurements.

I don't have a 32 tire to try - I can just use the 700x28's, I just thought if I could fit a 32 in there, it'd be nicer for riding gravel or rough roads...

I could also try a different type of tire than the t-servs, but... they're red and that's pretty (I could be a big girl and do without red tires...)

However, I really want red tires :)


I'll check the brakes that I have on my other bikes and maybe head out to a bike shop.

I love those red tires- keep them!

I have some Paselas that I really like, but keep meaning to try the TServs as well cuz I hear so many good things about them.

I mostly bought them because they were red :) I liked the tread pattern, I did find a lot of really good reviews, but I did find some negative reviews. So we'll see.